Friday, November 1, 2013

The young horses from Australia are coming along nicely. My
pride and joy, Ray Price and Wallaroo, have been quietly developing here at
Windurra throughout the year. In the past I’ve made the error of pushing my
non-Thoroughbred young horses along a bit too quickly, and I’ve made sure with
Ray and Wallythat I’ve given them
plenty of time for their bodies to develop into strong eventing prospects. Both
of them are ¾ Thoroughbreds and ¼ Dutch Warmblood with outstanding pedigrees; they are each related to 4-star eventers and Grand Prix dressage and show jumping
horses.

My partner in both horses is Amy Lindgren, who’s been
involved with my eventing horses for the past five or six years (one of her notable horses is Minotaure du Passoir).
Both Amy and I are very pleased with these two geldings and are excited for 2014.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

2013 has been a truly forgettable year for me, with injuries related to horses and myself. Last week I was doing a very casual job of hand-walking a horse that’s coming back from an injury, with a much-too-long rein; the horse spooked, spun around and kicked me chest-high. My true ninja reflexes kicked in and I blocked the blow with my forearm, which possible saved a few ribs but unfortunately cracked and dislocated my forearm.

In hindsight it was completely my fault, as I wasn’t paying close enough attention to a fit horse that’s been locked up and was feeling fresh in the cold weather.
It’s a good reminder to me of how careful you have to be around horses all the time and pay attention to whatever you’re doing. I’m sad to report that the horse did not end up with a sore foot…

The good news is it was a clean break, and after surgery I’ve been back riding this week on some of the quiet, straightforward horses. My elbow was dislocated, as well, and during surgery they popped it back in.